Twenty fire engines and around 125 firefighters tackled a fire at a hotel on Chiltern Street in Marylebone.
The fire started in ducting and spread from the ground floor to the roof of the four-storey hotel with a restaurant on the ground floor. The blaze spread to the second and third floors of the building.
The roof and third floor were destroyed by the fire. Around half of the second floor and a small part of the ground floor were damaged by the fire. Around 100 people evacuated the building before the Brigade arrived, and no injuries have been reported.
Assistant Commissioner Paul McCourt attended the scene. He said: “Crews worked hard over a number of hours in arduous conditions in a complex and historically significant building. Firefighters successfully contained the fire to one property, preventing it from spreading to neighbouring properties.
“Firefighters will remain on scene this morning damping down hotspots.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation.”
The Brigade’s 999 Control officers were first called at 1452 and deployed fire crews from Euston, Soho, Paddington, West Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea, and surrounding fire stations. The incident was under control by 2007.
